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Thursday, February 4, 2010

“Garden bones” refer to those design elements (paths, trees, structures, etc.) that define the structure of a garden and are often best seen in the winter under a blanket of snow. The bones of “Bonaire,” located in Orange, New Jersey, are clearly seen here – with its long axial view and symmetrical layout bordered by clipped box hedges typical of a formal garden. This design style was favored by Ellen Biddle Shipman (1869-1950) who designed “Bonaire” for Robert A. Franks (treasurer of industrialist Andrew Carnegie) in the 1930s. Shipman designed numerous residential gardens like Bonaire. She is most well-known for her designs at Longue Vue Gardens in New Orleans, the Cummer Estate (now the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens) in Jacksonville, Florida, and Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron, Ohio, where she collaborated with landscape architects Charles Platt and Warren Manning.

This Blog brings Archivists, Museum Specialists, and Librarians around the Smithsonian to write about their new collections, current works in progress or whatever catches their eye. It is our goal to bring our readers collection highlights, unveil hidden collections as they become online, and relate to current events with historical artifacts, art work and research materials from the past.
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